One less thing to worry about

Rejoice, world, rejoice. No, really. Get up and rejoice.

Erin and Dave are not homeless. As of 5:27 p.m. today, we have a house.

I'd tell you it's the most gorgeous house ever, and that I'm really excited to get in there and see my stuff in it ... But in reality, while it is gorgeous, I'm relieved to have a house, and to look forward to not moving for a long time. It'll be refreshing not to move every six to 12 months. And, it's OURS. We can paint it, we can hang stuff on the walls ... Freedom. "Wait, you mean I can hang stuff on the walls and not have to count them in $1.50 increments?? What? AMAZING."*

And yeah, the house really is gorgeous. It looks pretty much like this house, exactly. Only it isn't located on a beach, it has about 2,800 fewer square feet, it's not tan, it has only one deck and it's really a lot more old-Midwestern than that one. But other than that (and the price difference, I'm sure), it's exactly the same. It has a roof, some windows and a door, just like this one.

Not having to worry about being homeless or stuck here 'til February** means I will sleep a bit better tonight. Even if it means I now have "homeowner" issues to worry about. Please, those aren't my problems until September. Don't tell me about them.

September -- Ahh! I'm moving in like, 40 days. Whoa. I've gotta start packing or something (insert me, standing here with my hands waving in the air, not knowing where to start, though I've moved literally 15 times in my life and know the drill).

(*A landlord I had in Toledo charged us $1.50 for every nail hole we left in the wall. Not "hole" hole, but regular ol' "wanna hang this photo on the wall" nail hole. Little did he know we were too cool not to hang photos, and too poor to afford to, so we filled the holes with toothpaste and he never knew any different.)

(**There's a neat, tiny, 2-point-font clause in our lease that Dave and I found a few days ago. Our landlord is OK with us going month-to-month on our lease after the first year, but by signing that lease we signed last year, we promised not to move out during the winter months. "Winter" in Wisconsin, to my landlord, is Oct. 31 to Feb. 28.)